by Lowell
Here are a few international, national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Sunday, December 7.
- Superpower Competition: The Missing Chapter in Trump’s Security Strategy
- Ukrainian city hit by ‘massive’ strike as peace talks in US conclude
- Zelensky, Trump advisers discuss Ukraine peace terms in 2-hour call
- Putin Lives by a Code Trump Doesn’t Understand (“Where Trump sees a deal, Putin sees submission.”)
- Chinese jets point radar at Japanese aircraft, Japan says (“The encounters near islands disputed islands are the most serious run-ins between the two militaries in years and are likely to escalate tension.”)
- Musk threatens ‘response’ against individuals who imposed €120M X penalty
- Trump’s foreign policy vision: Make Europe white again (“Trump’s global ‘strategy’ is grandiose, racist, and alarmingly dumb: Tyranny is cool, bro! But democracy sucks”)
- As Russia’s Africa Corps fights in Mali, witnesses describe atrocities from beheadings to rapes (Putin’s Russia is a disaster wherever it goes…)
- The dangers of Pete Hegseth’s ‘who cares?’ doctrine (“In U.S. history, war crimes have been rare. Accountability is needed to keep them that way.”)
- Admiral told lawmakers everyone on alleged drug boat was on a list of military targets (That’s very hard to believe.)
- Exodus From State Department Legal Office Could Heighten Risk Of Trump Admin Breaking The Law (“The office tackles global issues such as the administration’s deadly strikes in the Caribbean, which lawmakers and experts say could involve war crimes. Dozens of officials have left this year.”)
- Hegseth defends strikes on alleged cartel boats, says Trump can order use of force ‘as he sees fit’ (Nope, that’s NOT the way it’s supposed to work in a democracy with rule of law.)
- There’s no middle ground on the boat strikes (“The problem here is not any particular order in the chain of command. It’s that the Trump administration has defined war as something it isn’t. That rotten policy — that attack on common sense — needs to be the subject of any successful congressional response to what happened on Sept. 2.”)
- The Trump Administration’s Chaos in the Caribbean (“Pete Hegseth’s conduct is a case study in how the government’s growing sense of heedlessness and unaccountability is shaping disastrous policy.”)
- Hegseth won’t commit to releasing video of second strike on alleged drug boat: “We are reviewing it right now”
- Pressure grows on ‘reckless’ Hegseth as twin scandals engulf Pentagon chief (“Defense secretary defiant but allegations of war crimes and blistering watchdog report increase calls for him to go”)
- Maduro says the real reason for Trump’s Venezuela fixation is oil – is he right? (“…even if there were a change of regime and a US-backed candidate took office, the final decision on whether to invest in Venezuela’s oil would ultimately lie with the companies, which would weigh political and economic stability above all.”)
- Qatar and Egypt urge Israeli withdrawal to secure next step in Gaza peace deal
- Soldiers in Benin say they have seized power from President Talon (“A message from the French embassy in Benin said gunfire had been reported near the residence of the president.”)
- Tourists among at least 25 killed in Goa nightclub fire (“Fire broke out at midnight in Arpora with victims mostly kitchen workers, according to state’s chief minister”)
- ICE has arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records, data shows (Not a single one of these people should have been arrested.)
- A Record 65,735 People in ICE Custody as of November 30 (“A review of the available data reveals a simple empirical reality: the only way for the Trump administration to increase all of its immigration enforcement numbers (arrests, detentions, deportations, etc.) is to target people who have no criminal convictions.”)
- ICE agents under scrutiny after man’s legs allegedly crushed in Vancouver arrest (HOLY CRAP)
- Immigration courts thrown into chaos as Trump administration purges dozens of judges (“The president has ousted about one-seventh of the DOJ judges weighing whether to deport noncitizens.”)
- Three-year-old child forced to serve as her own attorney in Tucson immigration court (Complete and utter insanity.)
- Trump Weighs Moving on From Noem (“The DHS secretary has overseen the president’s most controversial domestic initiative. But her future is increasingly in doubt.”)
- Senator says ICE ‘attack dog’ caused ‘horrific’ injuries to unresisting man as he was detained (“Patty Murray of Washington state said ICE agents lied to Wilmer Toledo-Martinez to lure him outside before dog attacked him” Evil.)
- Mom of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House narrative of her ICE arrest
- Have Trump’s Tariffs Gone as High as They Can Go? Businesses Hope So
- The Supreme Court Is Failing at Its Most Important Job (This Court is a basically unmitigated disaster. If/when Democrats get back into power, they need to enact MASSIVE reforms.)
- Conservative Project at Supreme Court Meets Trump’s Push to Oust Officials
- Trump’s Top Advisers Wage Campaign to Shift His Focus to High Prices
- Trump won’t quit the filibuster fight. Thune can’t give him what he wants. (“President Donald Trump still wants the Senate to ditch the filibuster, putting Senate Majority Leader John Thune in a bind as both parties turn their attention to 2026.”)
- Trump wants to recreate a white America that never existed
- A Complete History of the R-Word, the MAGA Movement’s Favorite Slur (“Donald Trump recently used the pejorative to attack Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, adding to a chorus of right-wing influencers wielding it against opponents”)
- State Universities Are Scrambling to Appease the Bigoted MAGA Regime (“From Oklahoma to Indiana to Alabama, state schools are bending over backward—suspending student magazines and even disciplining instructors—to preemptively satisfy the Trump administration.”)
- Florida may be Trump’s last chance to gain GOP seats through redistricting (“With the White House’s push for states to draw new maps ahead of the midterms not going as smoothly as planned, the Sunshine State is now entering the fray.”)
- Judge blocks prosecutors’ access to James Comey’s lawyer’s emails and data (“Court says government’s retention and use of law professor Daniel Richman’s data appears to have been illegal.”)
- Donald Trump’s Kennedy Center is showier, emptier and more political (“In 10 months, the president has transformed Washington’s cultural hub. Now comes his biggest night yet: the Kennedy Center Honors.”)
- Trump awards medals to the Kennedy Center honorees in an Oval Office ceremony
- Inside Trump’s transformation of the Kennedy Center
- How Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Thinks Democrats Can Win Rural America
- Get a Rake: Dispatch From Suburban America’s Forever War (“Why is it so hard to ban gas-powered leaf blowers, our most hated appliance?”)
- Video, Highlights: Friday Power Lunch Features “The Commander” (Elaine Luria), “The Author” (Beth Macy), “The Farmer” (Joy Powers)…and the Next Braddock District Supervisor (Rachna Sizemore Heizer) (Luria: “I know and understand exactly what it is to get back into this….that it puts not just me as an individual, but our entire family at risk,” but that’s “the mission at hand.”)
- Editorial: Virginia Climate Assessment offers roadmap for policymakers (“The Virginia Climate Assessment, the first of its kind for the commonwealth, provides policymakers important insight for adaptation and resilience.”)
- Ivy Main on “How Gov. Spanberger and a Democratic majority can make energy more affordable” (“An aggressive legislative agenda this year will demonstrate national leadership on managing the data center buildout while delivering climate, health and economic benefits to all Virginians”)
- Virginia data centers stir political passions, at county and state levels (“Virginia’s data center boom is the subtext to increasingly intense politicking over longtime state issues: climate change, electricity rates and the powers of local governments.”)
- How Dominion Energy’s President and CEO, Bob Blue, Stole Christmas (“Lumps of coal from Virginia’s own version of the ‘Grinch'”)
- Video, Highlights: Arlington County Board Debates, Votes to Move Ahead with Process to Examine Possible Changes To Its Form of Government.
- New chief judge appointed for Eastern District of Virginia
- Chances increasing for Hampton Roads to get freezing fog Sunday and light snow Monday
- CWG Live: Calm and chilly today, then really cold Monday and Tuesday (“Can’t rule out a few snow showers late tonight into early Monday. Wind chills start in the teens Monday morning.”)
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